


Fine Dining

by Geonn



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Canon Bisexual Character, Canon Lesbian Relationship, F/F, Humor, Pajamas & Sleepwear, Partial Nudity, Romance, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-02
Updated: 2012-05-02
Packaged: 2017-11-04 17:51:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/396549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geonn/pseuds/Geonn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Helen takes Charlotte along on a chore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fine Dining

Charlotte felt Helen's lips on her neck and earlobe and feigned sleep for a few extra seconds so the teasing would continue. Finally Helen lightly pinched Charlotte's hip. "I know you're awake. You've stopped snorting."

"I do _not_ snore." Charlotte rolled onto her back and Helen settled on top of her. 

Helen brushed the tangled hair out of Charlotte's face. "Everyone says that, and yet no one can actually know unless they're told. Why are they so adamant about something they haven't possibly experienced or can even control?" She kissed Charlotte. "You do snore, darling. Short little inhales, followed by soft exhales. Quite adorable, really."

"Well as long as you enjoy it." She stroked Helen's naked thighs under the blankets, enjoying the other woman's weight on top of her. "Why are you waking me up in the dead of night?"

"It's nearly two. Did you forget--"

"Oh! The feedings. I did forget." Helen climbed off of her and they moved to opposite sides of the bed. Charlotte stepped into her pants and lifted her butt just enough to pull them on. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Helen sitting naked on the opposite side of the bed, back to her. The slope of Helen's shoulders, the line of her spine... she was elegant. 

There were times when Helen was nude, when there were no visual clues to her twentieth-century persona, when Charlotte truly felt like she was sleeping with a remnant of some distant past. The feeling was magnified a hundredfold in this magnificent bedchamber. Helen Magnus, in repose, with her hair falling over her shoulder... it was like looking into the past.

"Ready?"

Charlotte put on her robe, not bothering to put on a shirt underneath. She cinched the belt and turned to see Helen was also in a robe. It reached the floor and, when she moved, it revealed a maddeningly enticing strip of bare thigh. The neckline was modest, but revealed enough to hint at what lay beneath. 

"Ready."

She followed Helen out into the hall. The Sanctuary at night was like a slumbering beast, dark and still but capable of biting you if you weren't careful. 

Helen had taken this chore off Henry's hands at Charlotte's request. When she heard about the two a.m. feedings, she knew she had to see one for herself. She couldn't get enough of what Helen referred to as the Sanctuary's "guests." It was as eclectic a clientele as anyone could hope for. On her first visit, she sensed Helen's apprehension. "Give it time to sink in before you rush to judgment. The things you're about to see, it's... difficult to prepare you for."

Charlotte's careful preparation had gone straight out the window when she walked up to the first habitat and saw a mermaid swimming toward her. The woman smiled, and Charlotte stepped up close to the glass to get a better look at her. The nostrils were closed tight, forming gills, and there was a thin membrane covering her eyes. 

_happiness through you, because you, you good her, love_

"Ah..."

"Ondine," Helen had chastised. "No communication without invitation."

"It's all right." Charlotte had been breathless, and she nodded hello to the mermaid before moving to the next glass enclosure. Then the next, and the next. She was so enamored that she tried to see everything at once and ended up missing everything. She put her hands in her hair and turned in a slow circle as she tried to take it all in at once. "This is incredible. Utterly unbelievable. There are so many different... the taxonomies of, of... and the..." She looked at Helen. "I'm sorry. I know I said I would be okay, but this is so..."

Helen's smile told her that, while this wasn't the reaction she'd anticipated, it was more than okay. Eventually she had explained why she was so relieved. "People tend to see the Abnormals as oddities, as strange and frightening. You saw them as mysteries to be explored. That, I believe, is key to surviving in the Sanctuary. Instead of being wary, you looked as if you had been handed the key to the universe. I remember that feeling... it's how I felt when I was first allowed access to this world. To see that sense of wonder on your face, it was a confirmation that I'm right about you. About everything I hoped you were."

Charlotte had smiled sheepishly and scanned the walls again. "I want to see it all."

"I think you'll definitely have time for that. Come on... let's finish the tour."

Now Charlotte was eager to become a true member of the Sanctuary family. She wanted to pull her weight, and that meant pulling duty that no one else wanted to do. The day before she had fed the Besovites. It had been... interesting, she supposed. And now she was taking the dreaded middle of the night feedings. Helen was going to accompany her the first few times, but then she would be on her own.

Their first stop was the kitchen. Charlotte retrieved a wheeled cart, and Helen loaded it with Tupperware containers and oddly-shaped objects wrapped in butcher paper. Once everything was prepared, Helen smiled and gestured for Charlotte to lead the way. Charlotte pushed the cart through the corridors, onto the whisper-quiet elevator that she still expected to clank and wheeze like something from an old horror movie, and out into the habitats.

Nocturnal Abnormals were abundant, and this section of the habitats was bustling with activity. Charlotte saw what appeared to be two lizards playing a game of poker, and a man with a bat's face was watching an infomercial. He waved when they walked by, and Charlotte waved back. Helen knocked on the door frame, since his habitat didn't have a glass wall between it and the corridor.

"Don't make me revoke your phone privileges again, Percival."

"But it replaces eighteen kitchen tools! Imagine the shelf space! It's just--"

Helen silenced up with a single upraised finger. "Do not."

Percival slumped in his chair and began channel surfing. Helen sighed and motioned for Charlotte to continue onward. "If we receive one more item that slices, dices, and revolutionizes meal preparations, I'll disconnect his cable. I swear it."

Charlotte chuckled. "Those things are hard to resist."

"Oh, I know all too well. It's psychological manipulation."

Charlotte glanced at Helen. "You're not... the... infomercial people. They're not..."

"Abnormals? Only the really shrill ones."

"So all of them."

Helen laughed and refused to elaborate. Their first stop was the Lotus Elk, which ate seroslugs. Helen opened one of the containers and fished the creatures out with her fingers. Charlotte made a face but said nothing as Helen deposited six of the football-sized mollusks into the habitat and closed the door. She wiped her hand on a moist toilette. "The Elk prefers to hunt its food."

"So... you have living food?"

"Of course. Some of our guests refuse to eat prepared victuals. It's no different than proving vegetarian or kosher dishes."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Kosher?"

"Oh, yes." Helen smiled. "Our guests represent a wide range of beliefs. Few of them are orthodox, but they have religion the same as any group of people."

"Wow. Do any of them worship you?"

Helen gestured at the next room. "Ahem. This is the kitapholus drocena. It can be a bit testy--"

Charlotte grinned. "They do, don't they? You have a religion built up around you."

"More like a cult." Helen's shoulders slumped. "I don't encourage it, but so long as they aren't harming anyone... Not a word of this to the others. Especially Nikola. Dear god, if Nikola discovered the Helennites..."

Charlotte laughed and clapped a hand over her mouth. "They call themselves Helennites?"

"Not a word, or I'll feed you to the pradophili." 

Charlotte mimed locking her lips with a key, but she knew she would have to track down this cult and sit in on one of their sermons.

They continued their rounds until the cart was empty. Helen chastised one of her guests who leapt from the rear of his home and alighted on the edge of the cart. She took the food he'd been after and refused to hand it over until he presented himself with the proper decorum and etiquette. He dropped to the ground and apologized for his enthusiasm. Helen fed him and moved on to the next room.

"Many of them will test you, being their newest server. Don't allow them to guilt you into handing over more food, and do not, under any circumstances, feed them someone else's food. While a few of our guests can eat anything, there are some who have extremely strict dietary requirements. If you hand over a lepidoptera's beef carcass to a dyshek, we might have a very hungry and irate Moth Man on our hands. Trust me, it's better to avoid that."

"Understood. I don't like regular moths that get past the screen on my window."

Helen smiled and let Charlotte take care of the last few creatures. "The ck'hery may be adorable, but don't allow it to lick your fingers. It's actually tasting you to see if you're worth the effort to eat instead of what we're providing."

"I'll keep that in mind."

After close to an hour, Helen guided the empty cart toward the elevator. "Looks like you've completed your first round of two a.m. feedings."

Charlotte slipped her arm around Helen's elbow. "Don't be so sure. I can think of one more resident of your Sanctuary who is up in the middle of the night and could use something to eat."

"Oh? Pray tell."

" _Charlotica Benoit-us._ "

Helen narrowed her eyes and pretended to search her memory. "Hm. Doesn't ring a bell. And what does this creature eat?"

"Oh, its dietary restrictions are very rigid. It must eat a _Helenicus Magnusious._ "

"Mm. Sounds rare."

"Oh, extremely rare. Precious." She wet her lips. "The _Charlotica_ is getting hungry. It only eats a very specific part of the _Helenicus_ ' anatomy, and that part has to be specially prepared. It must be... moist."

"I don't see that being a problem." Helen's voice was husky with desire. "And you know, now that you mention it, I believe I saw something quite like what you're describing in my bedroom."

"Really?"

"Of course. We can't allow the poor _Charlotica_ go hungry now, can we?"

"Of course not. I just feel bad for the poor... uh..."

" _Helenicus_."

"Thank you. I feel sorry for it, having to get... eaten."

Helen said, "Ah, you see, that's the beauty of their symbiotic relationship. When the _Charlotica_ eats, the _Helenicus_ feels very, very good. And one _Helenicus_ can sustain a _Charlotica_ for a very long time. In fact, the _Charlotica_ can eat the same _Helenicus_ several times in a single night."

"That's my kind of Abnormal."

Helen smiled and urged Charlotte forward. "Then lead the way, Dr. Benoit. Time is of the essence... the _Charlotica_ must eat."

"We must hurry, Dr. Magnus..."

They hurried to return the cart to the kitchen, both of them laughing like children as their bare feet pounded the carpets. The two a.m. feedings were over; now it was time for the three a.m. feedings. There was only one thing on the menu, but Charlotte was starting to think she would never lose her appetite for it.


End file.
